By Mike Simmons
If you drive west Moreno Street from “E” Street, past the old Baptist Hospital, and continue as the road meanders and changes names to Blount Street, you will find yourself on a beautiful drive that winds through large, mature Live Oak trees. It’s a peaceful, serene drive, with a pond on the right.
The history of this place is fascinating. In the 1880s, a German-born citizen named Conrad Kupfrian had an idea for a streetcar system in downtown Pensacola. To attract more business on weekends, he acquired the property and built a park on it. Named Kupfrian’s Park, it included a horse track, a beer hall, a dance pavilion, a bandstand, and picnic areas. Boxing matches even took place there. Everything centered around the pond. It was a huge success—the first amusement park in Pensacola!
After bridges were built across Pensacola Bay and Escambia Bay, and automobiles came into regular use, the popularity of Kupfrian’s Park began to decline, but the pond remained. The property was eventually purchased, and Pensacola Retirement Village was built on the spot with the pond behind it as part of the landscape.
When I was growing up, a friend of mine drowned in the pond. Later, as a Pensacola Police Officer, I was associated with two drownings at the pond.
In the 1990s, I was an investigator with the Pensacola Police Department. I was assigned a homicide case. As I interviewed the suspect, he admitted to firing the fatal shot and said he disposed of the firearm by tossing it into Kupfrian’s Pond.
In any homicide case, the murder weapon is important to the case, so I set about thinking of ways to find it. The first thing I did was to contact a group in town who had metal detectors. As the pond was not deep, they brought boats and, with their underwater metal-detecting instruments, the experts spent many hours looking for the weapon. Nothing.
Next, I contacted Officer Robbie Bell, the Pensacola Police Department’s Dive Team coordinator. He and his team braved the nasty, murky water in search of the tossed gun. Nothing.
Finally, I decided to drain the pond – a large undertaking. The property owners, however, were happy to help, and they set about the task. After a few days of draining and searching, I reported to my supervisor, Sgt. Henry Cassady. Here is how the conversation went…
Henry – “Well, did you get it?”
Me – “No Sir.”
Henry – “What? After all that work – nothing?”
Me – “Oh, no. I got something.”
Henry – “Well, what did you find?”
Me – “I found a rifle – Probably used in a crime, but no history that I can find.”
Henry – “What else?”
Me – “I fond a Volkswagen.”
Henry – “Huh? A Volkswagen?”
Me – “It was small, a Volkwagen Bug that had been reported stolen.”
Henry – “What else?”
Me – “I found a handgun, but not ours, and there is no serial number on it. Oh, and I found Jimmy Hoffa with concrete shoes.”
Henry – “Huh?”
Me – “Just kidding. Jimmy is still part of the New York underground. That was all.”
Needless to say, it was a lot of fruitless work, and nothing to show for it. I was sick of that pond and its secrets. However, even without the weapon, we were able to get a conviction.
A few months later, I got called to an apartment at the Pensacola Retirement Village. A man had been killed in his apartment. At the crime scene, the murder weapon was missing, so a search began. I opened the back door to the apartment and, staring in my face…was that pond. I gave a huge sigh.
We later found the murder weapon in the apartment.
Kupfrian’s Pond and me…we have a history.
Interesting…
Great story..!!!
Thanks